A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-4-2c, relating
to Bill Titleproviding a teacher mentoring increment for classroom
teachers with national board certification who teach and
mentor at priority and focus schools; defining focus and
priority schools; defining mentoring; specifying method of
payment; and specifying eligibility. Title Language

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That Enacting Sectionthe code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §18A-4-2c, read as
follows:

ARTICLE 4. SALARIES, WAGES AND OTHER BENEFITS.

§18A-4-2c. Teacher mentoring increment for classroom teachers
with national board certification who teach and
mentor at priority and focus schools.

(a) An additional two thousand dollars shall be paid
annually to each classroom teacher who:

(1) Holds a valid certificate issued by the National Board
for Professional Teaching Standards;

(2) Is employed to teach at a school designated as a
priority school or as a focus school by the West Virginia
department of education; and

(3) Is assigned as part of their regular employment to
mentor other teachers at the school.

The teacher is not eligible for any additional extra duty or
other pay for the mentoring assignment.

(b) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Priority school” means a school identified by the
department as being among the persistently lowest performing five
percent of schools in the state in both mathematics and
reading/language arts on the statewide summative assessment.

(2) “Focus school” means a school identified by the
department as being among the ten percent of schools in the state
with the largest differences in the achievement and graduation
rates of students in different economic, racial, disability and
other established subgroups of students at the school.

(3) “Mentoring” means working under the direction of the
principal to improve the professional practice knowledge and
skills of other professional personnel employed at the school
through on-site embedded professional development and other
appropriate school building level approaches.

(c) The payments:

(1) Shall be in addition to any amounts prescribed in the
applicable state minimum salary schedule;

(2) Shall be paid in equal monthly installments; and

(3) Shall be considered a part of the state minimum salaries
for teachers.

(d) A classroom teacher who becomes eligible for a mentoring
increment under this section shall remain eligible for five
consecutive years of employment at the same school in the same
assignment regardless of a subsequent change in the designation
of the school as a priority or focus school. The teacher may
become eligible again at a different priority or focus school,
but not sooner than five years from the beginning of a previous
eligibility. Nothing in this subsection permits continued
eligibility if the certificate issued by the National Board for
Professional Teaching Standards is no longer valid.

Note: The purpose of this bill is to provide a $2,000
mentoring increment to teachers with certification by the
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards who teach in
schools that are in the lowest 5% in achievement or 10% with the
largest achievement gaps statewide and also mentor other teachers
as part of their assignment. They may not receive additional
mentoring pay.